The Founders Cup: A Broadcaster’s Reflection
It was a cold January morning on the 20th. Snow still coated the ground, and ice covered a majority of the roads. When I stepped out of my car at 11 AM, I was greeted by a chilling wind which gave me goosebumps. It was not the last time I got goosebumps on that day.
For years, CBA and RBC have been bitter rivals who battle it out on the different courts and fields of high school athletics. However, in recent years with the creation of the new Founders Cup game, both school communities have been treated to an annual basketball game, which usually features a sellout crowd ready for action.
I was first introduced to this game when the great tradition began in 2017, with the first ever Founders Cup matchup being won by the Colts. The game was not only historic because of the trophy that was handed out after, but also on that monumental day, I watched in awe from my living room – the first ever CBA Digital Network broadcast.
I also heard the voice of the director of the CBA Digital Network and one of my closest mentors, Mr. Jason Lutz. Mr. Lutz was doing play-by-play that day, and little did I know that he would eventually become one of the most influential teachers in my high school career.
While watching the game with great joy and intrigue, my middle school self never could have imagined that I would be the one on the mic for the great game all these years later in my final year of CBA.
In the years that followed, I watched the Colts fall to the Caseys in back-to-back Founders Cups during my sophomore and junior year, after there was no game in freshman year due to Covid. Nobody in the Class of 2024 had seen CBA win the Cup yet.
When I walked into CBA on that cold Saturday morning, it was empty with only the Colts practicing in the gym bright and early. I met with Mr. Lutz and our spotter Owen Danaher ‘24, and we began to set up the broadcast equipment. We had to be ready to go early, as for the first time ever, we recorded and produced a pregame show.
My longtime broadcasting partner, Dylan Millevoi ‘24, arrived soon after I did, and we talked about how we would approach both the pregame show and the game. We had a lot of notes on both teams, and we discussed some key points to include in the broadcast.
After about an hour of recording the pregame show, we finished the final segment at the time the doors opened. I watched with great enthusiasm as the gym quickly filled up with hundreds of passionate Colt Crazies.
The guys were fired up, and when the team came out with the band playing, the place erupted. That loud reaction from the CBA faithful was only a taste of how loud it would really get once the game started.
As I watched the clock strike 2 p.m., I knew it was finally time for the game I’ve been looking forward to for years. I looked around. With the arrival of RBC’s fans, there must have been 1,000 people in attendance.
After the electric announcing of lineups and the national anthem performed by the Digital Network’s very own, John Lakeman ‘24, it was time for the game. As I put the headset on for tip off, I heard perhaps the loudest reaction from the Colt Crazies I have ever heard.
As the players took the court, the gym shook and it was mass pandemonium. It was so loud to the point where I could not hear myself speak, never mind any of Dylan’s color commentary. I looked out to the players and then to the Colt Crazies. The goosebumps were back. That was the moment I realized I have been given an opportunity to do a game of such magnitude, and now I need to crush it.
The rest of the broadcast featured a back and forth battle between the Colts and the Caseys which brought much excitement to both Dylan and me. The game would eventually come to an end in triumphant fashion with the Colts winning the Founders Cup, 56-47.
I was going crazy when the game ended screaming “The cup comes home! The cup comes home!” Dylan, appropriately, was matching my excitement while the Colt Crazies rushed the court.
We took a break between the end of the game and the postgame interview, and I sat just looking out to the court. I realized that I had been a part of something special, and me along with the fantastic crew working the game had brought it to an audience who could not be in the gym that day. It was truly a magical experience.
I’m not sure how many games I have left here as a broadcaster of CBA sports, but I know I will never forget this one and always be thankful I got to do it. Peter Noble ‘24 and the boys finally beat RBC and won the Founders Cup. Triumph in the Varsity Gym.
The Cup came home.
